He didn’t wait for my reaction. He turned to Kale and lashed out with a sudden blow that rocked the vampire back on his heels. Blood blossomed from the fresh wound beneath Kale’s eye, the blue one.
I could clearly see him fighting not to react. To retaliate would most certainly mean a death sentence for the both of us. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until my lungs began to ache.
With another abrupt blast of power, the demon sent Kale flying. He didn’t get up. The demon turned on me with a gaze as black as night.
“How dare you involve yourself in my affairs? You are no more than a lap dog to my kind, werewolf. I’ll show you what happens to wolves who don’t know their place.”
He raised a hand to me, and my blood began to boil as my circle dissolved. An intense heat, worse than anything I’d ever felt, coursed through me. I stumbled and fell to my knees. I believe his intention was truly to cook me from the inside out.
Thanks to Lilah, I never had to find out.
All of a sudden she was just there, framed in the doorway. Dressed in black from head to toe, she wore a long trench coat and army boots. Her unnaturally red hair shone with an ethereal glow. Eyes the color of a pale orange sunset stared into the fair-haired demon as if they could see out the other side of him.
“And, I’m going to show you what happens to demons who mess with my people.” She said only one other word. The lady never even lifted a finger. “Die.”
Those creepy white eyes widened in shock and the demon shouted, “You!” Before he could utter another word, he began to sink in upon himself. There was a puff of smoke and he was gone. Only a pile of soot remained where the demon had stood.
No f**king way. Demons don’t die. They could be banished but with great difficulty. Incredibly unheard of, Lilah actually took this one out. I don’t mess with demons for a reason. They are the biggest of the bad.
I stood unsteadily, dumbfounded, as Lilah went to Kale. I forced myself to move and joined her at his side. My heart beat so hard against my ribs that it hurt.
“Is he alright?” I asked. I looked down at Kale. His left eye was swollen, but otherwise, he didn’t look too bad, just a little roughed up.
“Oh yeah,” she glanced at me with a critical eye. “Are you?”
I shrugged. I’d be fine. Lilah grasped my injured hand gently and passed the blood stained skin beneath Kale’s nose. I was too in awe of her to protest. I could feel the strange power in her touch.
Kale snapped upright suddenly and reached for my arm with a snarl. I jerked back, and Lilah put her hand on his chest. After a moment, he blinked a few times and relaxed. When she stepped back and dusted her hands off, I realized she was essentially wiping the metaphysical remnants from her skin.
She waited patiently, until he was steady on his feet, and then she gave us a nod and the briefest of smiles. It wasn’t exactly friendly, but it worked for me. Before either of us could say a word, she’d retreated into the hall and disappeared.
Chapter Six
I didn’t run as a wolf that night. Instead, I poured a glass of my favorite red wine and sunk appreciatively into a hot bubble bath. Blue bruises decorated my skin in a variety of places. The worst was my back, where I’d hit the mirrored wall. A good sleep would make a world of difference in the healing process, if I could get one. I wouldn’t say that I’m an insomniac so much as sleeping took up time that I didn’t have.
Kale and I had vacated the hotel immediately after Lilah, though we never caught up to her. We’d come closer to hell tonight than either of us had realized. I’d never been so glad to be safe inside my own home. Give me a vampire to deal with any day, but keep the demons in hell where they belong.
The water was cool by the time I pulled the plug. The approaching sunrise cast my bedroom in a faint, cozy glow. I turned the television on to a station that played sitcoms from the 80s and was asleep before the sun broke the horizon.
I hadn’t dreamt about it for years, three at least. And yet, I recognized it as if I’d never left. I was right back inside my worst nightmare, the most horrifying moment of my life so far.
I was my sixteen-year-old self again. I stood at the top of the stairs in the house where I’d grown up. It hadn’t always been the happiest of homes, due to ongoing conflict between my parents, but I’d learned to feign ignorance early on.
I looked down at the scene of destruction and death on the floor below, and for a minute, I couldn’t breathe. The front door hung ominously on one hinge, and it was a mess of deep scratches. Bloody trails and crimson splatters adorned the white and taupe walls. My mother’s screams thundered through my ears. My heart raced, and my breath caught in my throat, as I watched the next few moments play out in a wide-eyed stupor.